tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693179381503731530.post7278156597758685596..comments2017-12-02T11:21:06.836+01:00Comments on Yeshua, Hineni!: The Twelve Tribes in Germany - Part 17Yeshua Hineninoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693179381503731530.post-36781096299023992782014-09-21T11:44:29.306+02:002014-09-21T11:44:29.306+02:00Thank you for sharing your story anonymous. If you...Thank you for sharing your story anonymous. If you like, you certainly are welcome to email me - mausi2000(at)gmail.comJennifer Stahlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02743446652837650401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693179381503731530.post-46305356186389617942014-09-21T00:57:52.124+02:002014-09-21T00:57:52.124+02:00The Twelve Tribes community cult will likely never...The Twelve Tribes community cult will likely never really be able to look at their own culture and ask themselves the hard questions, or really be able to change what they believe, or how they do things, unless the Apostle and his wife make the changes before they die, and that does not seem likely. The Apostle is &quot;The Anointing&quot; and what he has taught and formulated into &quot;the Teachings&quot; is like the Bible to them. It is God to them. His authority is what has produced the unity and high-conformity in the movement. &quot;Speak not evil of the ruler of thy people&quot; I was told as a member. If you criticize or question the group, even in a very polite very tiny humble way, you will be judged as &quot;rebellious&quot; or &quot;unbelieving.&quot; Saying anything against or questioning the Apostle is unthinkable in the group. I think it is possible that when the founders die, there is a tiny chance for change, but if that chance for change occurs, it will likely divide the movement, and they all know that, so what will likely take place is that they will do what the Apostle has instructed and &quot;cling to the Anointing (himself)&quot; and &quot;the traditions which have been handed down to you.&quot; Because, they think they are of God, because they are in complete unity/uniformity. If they lose the unity, they have failed to be the &quot;Bride of Yahshua (Jesus)&quot;, they have failed to be the only true end-times Church. So, it will be an even more tightly regulated culture of control based upon what the Anointing-Prophet has decreed. This is and will be their basis of unity/uniformity. I wish it could somehow be different. I wish at least people didn&#39;t have to work double-shifts most days, for free. There was a time in some households when couples would receive a little spending money each week. That was taken away. I wish it could be the &quot;life of love&quot; they preach and talk about, sometimes it is and it&#39;s beautiful, but mostly, it&#39;s a life of uniformity, fear and condemnation of the outside world including of churches-doctors-hospitals-higher education, and endless menial work with no wages and no insurances of any kind (unless they are forced in court by governments to pay the insurance premiums, like worker compensation insurance in America). I know people who have died of medical neglect in the Twelve Tribes. People I had worked with and cared about. It angers me. They were simply encouraged to and allowed to slowly die in the community and usually without any pain medications. They have this sick mentality that all pain is allowed by God and people should take no pills. &quot;There&#39;s no pills here.&quot; Two sisters I knew had cancer and died. One man was in terrific pain for years in community before dying. Instead of professional medical care and modern treatments, they may give you daily fruit juice in bed instead. Something you hardly ever receive as a healthy member. I think it&#39;s about money. They refuse to carry health insurance for the members, and because it&#39;s a communal/communistic society, most of the members receive only basic survival needs: food and clothing. I know sisters in one community that grow bean spouts in order to have some money just to buy socks and underwear. The Twelve Tribes, messianic communities, Yellow Deli cafe&#39;s, and the Peacemaker Ship are sad examples of how just one man can become an Apostle and Prophet and then disable and reduce human lives under his direct and indirect control, and how his wife can also negatively influence his decisions as well. anonymoushttp://www.culteducation.com/group/1198-twelve-tribes-messianic-communities.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693179381503731530.post-92144827731194182622014-09-20T19:13:01.649+02:002014-09-20T19:13:01.649+02:00Few know this, but the Twelve Tribes cult is actua...Few know this, but the Twelve Tribes cult is actually a Seventh-day Adventist offshoot group further modified in doctrine, such as adding eternal Hell torture and purgatory Death. The Tribes Apostle&#39;s wife originally wanted to be an SDA christian before the Tribes began. When I think of the Twelve Tribes, it hurts my heart. I care about the people, admire some of the ideals, but am faced with the disturbing realities of what goes on, and the dishonesty with new visitors and the public. For example, it is okay to lie to others to protect the group and the leaders, even in court under oath. This life is all about serving the group, and the individual is simply a worker bee who has given everything to do that. I have studied religion closely much of my life. I can clearly say that communal lifestyles are generally a wreck of a situation waiting to happen, especially when new members have to give anyone all their money, property, inheritance, car, and freedoms, and then also give up friends and family &quot;in the world.&quot; I am grateful that Germany had the common sense and courage to stand up to the deceptions and abuses of the Twelve Tribes communities. Their leader should have been made to appear in court. He is a coward, he always has been, avoiding honest public appearance and questions. If people have to give an account to God after they die, people like he and his wife should, for taking away people&#39;s lives while they live &quot;as dead men.&quot; &quot;Dead men don&#39;t have opinions&quot; in the Tribes. When you join, you die to the group, and now only live for the group. The group is your God. I am only scratching the surface, but wanted to say something. Thank you for this blog.anonymoushttp://www.culteducation.com/group/1198-twelve-tribes-messianic-communities.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693179381503731530.post-86366044435519118682014-09-20T19:07:10.295+02:002014-09-20T19:07:10.295+02:00My wife and I lived at various Twelve Tribes cult ...My wife and I lived at various Twelve Tribes cult communities in the USA. Our longest stay as members was for 8 months. Our main reason for leaving was the frequent physical punishment of children for the smallest of matters. Such as not sitting still, playing pretend, even the slightest hint of disobedience. I was several times instructed by older members or the shepherd of our commune house to begin hitting my two year old son. The shepherd said that if I did not want to do it, then he would be able to do so. I said I would. At one of the daily gatherings, my son was bored and wiggling around too much again. I took him to the bathroom and told him why I was going to discipline him. I hit his little hands as I had been instructed to do. He did not cry. I hit them very hard then with the long flexible wooden stick. Still he did not cry. He looked at me with sad and confused eyes, like he was saying, &quot;Why are you hitting me? You are my father? Why is this happening?&quot; I decided after that, that I would never hit my son again. We lived some months longer at the Tribes commune. I would pretend to take my son to the bathroom to physically discipline him, so other members would not do it for me, but when we were inside the bathroom, I did nothing. We waited a little while, and then we went back to the gathering or from what we had been doing. I wish I had never met the Twelve Tribes. The sad reality is that it is, in some ways, it is a beautiful life with beautiful ideas. It comes with a new identity, a new life, new friends, new forgiveness at first, a new culture. It can make you feel loved, needed, and special, no matter how degraded you have felt or to what extent you have failed in mainstream society. But it is a place of totalitarian control, where &quot;everything matters&quot;. Every little thing about your life is watched and you are frequently corrected. You are to be &quot;like a wheat berry, which is ground up with other wheat berries to be made into the finest flour that God can use to bake a loaf of bread (the community).&quot; In some ways, it is a sad, sick, and abusive hypocritical life. They condemn all other religions and churches, but they themselves have corrupt leadership at times on the local level, and their overall Apostle and his wife, Elbert Eugene Spriggs &quot;Yoneq&quot; and Marsha Ann Duvall Spriggs &quot;Haemeq&quot; have done real damage to people&#39;s lives through the Teachings and lifestyle they have started and the double-standards that exist between the shepherds and the sheep members. They claim it&#39;s all of God&#39;s Holy Spirit, but I have seen that this is not so. It is not &quot;the only place that you can be saved.&quot; Not &quot;the only place where God&#39;s Spirit dwells.&quot; There is actually another type of spirit behind this whole organization. One that does not bring true happiness. It controls, enslaves, and cuts a person and children down, until they can no longer really see things clearly. After a time, you begin to see everything through a different set of eyes and understanding. It is frightening to me. I have had it happen almost completely several times. Our experiences with the Twelve Tribes have seemingly permanently disturbed our lives to some extent, even though we are away from the culture there. Perhaps the Tribes were started with the best of intentions, but it grew into a one-man/one-couple dictatorship and with a subtle and now blatant pride that they are &quot;the only ones doing the will of God on earth.&quot; anonymoushttp://www.culteducation.com/group/1198-twelve-tribes-messianic-communities.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693179381503731530.post-77759938677634995672014-06-15T19:31:57.966+02:002014-06-15T19:31:57.966+02:00very well written, a much needed distilled review....very well written, a much needed distilled review. check out question12tribes.com. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693179381503731530.post-39951140245778812772014-06-14T16:47:33.774+02:002014-06-14T16:47:33.774+02:00very informative. from the comment clubvery informative. from the comment clubpeaceful meadowsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693179381503731530.post-91416569592991231032014-06-14T16:21:34.005+02:002014-06-14T16:21:34.005+02:00Very sad, but very interesting at the same time. ...Very sad, but very interesting at the same time. I was raised in a cult so a lot of this hit&#39;s home to me.Wheel Educationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14489295317671822706noreply@blogger.com